Murder trail ends in Delhi: Crime branch nabs Jharkhand fugitive in Delhi

New Delhi: The Delhi Police crime branch has arrested a 30-year-old man suspected to be involved in the kidnapping and murder of a man in Jharkhand.

The suspect, Sukhdev Murmu, had fled his native village in Jharkhand’s Sahibganj, where he and his associates allegedly killed the victim and buried his body in a jungle. Following a 10-day manhunt and close coordination between Delhi and Jharkhand Police, Murmu was nabbed near Hanuman Mandir at Yamuna Bazar on Sunday.

DCP (Crime) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav said the case surfaced after an FIR was registered on May 21 at Borio police station in Sahibganj following the suspicious disappearance of a local, Champai Marandi. During investigation, police found Marandi was last seen consuming alcohol with the suspects.

After an extensive search, the victim’s body was recovered from a dense forest area nearly 10 days after the crime, following which murder charges were added to the kidnapping case. Sensing that police were closing in on them, the suspects fled the village and scattered across different states to avoid arrest.

The breakthrough came when head constable Gaurav received specific intelligence about Murmu’s presence in Delhi. The informer told police that Murmu had been boasting about his involvement in a murder in his native village and about concealing the body in the jungle. Acting on the tip-off, the crime branch verified the information with the Borio police station SHO, who confirmed Murmu was wanted in the murder case.

Subsequently, a team led by inspector Vinay Kumar, under the supervision of ACP Satendra Mohan, laid a trap near Yamuna Bazar. Around 11am Sunday, Murmu was arrested.

Police said during interrogation, Murmu, a farm labourer allegedly addicted to alcohol, confessed to his involvement in the crime. “He disclosed that on May 12, he, along with co-accused Babuji Marandi and Mangal Tudu, was consuming liquor with the victim,” police said.

A heated argument over a minor issue escalated into violence, said police. Murmu allegedly admitted that while his associates strangled the victim to death, he assisted them in committing the murder and disposing of the body in the jungle.

Following the arrest, Jharkhand Police were informed and subsequently took the suspect into custody on transit remand granted by a Delhi court for further investigation and trial in his home state.